Tube light glare eliminator



Oct. 30, 1962 T. c. ESTES TUBE LIGHT GLARE ELIMINATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 16, 1958 m, mm. 5m 0l M s m T m Q. r wmA United States Patent O y 3,061,718 TUBE LIGHT GLARE ELIMINATOR Thomas C. Estes, 13.0. Box 1810, Dallas, Tex. Filed July 16, 1958, Ser. No. 748,976 1 Claim. (Cl. 24U-138) The present invention .generally relates to light diffusing shields or glare eliminators for tubular lights or those using tubular lamps such as fluorescent lights which are now in .general use.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a glare eliminator which is extremely lightweight in construction which enables it to be suspended directly from the tubular lights without requiring the use of any tools whatsoever and without performing any operation upon or movement of the tubular light.

The present invention incorporates a light diffuser shield in the form of a generally elongated rectangular panel underlying the tubular light or lights together with a supporting strap for resiliently gripping :the panel and at the same time engaging the tubular light in such a manner that the relationship of the panel to 4the lights is maintained thus providing for the most effective glare elimination possible.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a glare eliminator which is simple in construction, easy to attach `and detach, easy to clean, well adapted for -acomplishing its purpose of eliminating glare and relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

'Ihese together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a lamp xture with the glare eliminator of the present invention mounted thereon;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the glare elimina- 'tor per se;

IFIGURE 3 is a side elevation of the lamp fixture and glare eliminator with the yglare eliminator being shown in section generally along the plane passing through the longitudinal center of the glare eliminator illustrating i-ts relationship to the tubular lights; and

FIGURE 4 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 4 4 of FIGURE 3 illustrating further structural details of the glare eliminator construction and relationships.

Referring now speciically to the drawing, the numeral generally designates the glare eliminator of the present invention and the numeral 12 generally designates a light iixture which forms no part of the present invention and which is illustrated for the purposes of illustrating the structure and relationship of the glare eliminator with it being pointed out that the glare eliminator may be used with various types of tubular lights and various types of xtures for supporting the same.

Generally, the light xture is of conventional construction but generally includes an elongated tubular housing 14 with end plates 16 and a generally inverted channel-shaped rellector 18 having downwardly diverging side walls 20 terminating in upwardly inclined end edge llanges 22. Socket structure 24 is provided on each end plate 16 with the socket structure supporting a pair of tubular lamps or lights I26 in spaced parallel relation. The inverted channel shaped rellector may be removed tfor cleaning or the like by removing a fastener element 28 therefor. The interior surface of the reflector may be provided with a rellective surface such as white enamel.

The present device includes an enlarged and elongated rectangular panel or screen which may be constructed of any suitable material but is preferably constructed of a plastic sheet of rigid polyvinyl chloride which may be tin-ted or transparent or any desired degree of translucency Afor providing the desired degree of shielding. Secured to the edges of the panel 30 are end reinforcing frame members and longitudinal reinforcing members 34 which may be necessary in some instances and may not be necessary depending upon the size tof the panel 30 and the thickness thereof as well as the possibility of warpage iof the panel 30.

For supporting the panel 30, there is provided a pair of brackets each :generally designated by the numeral 36 which is in the form of an elongated strap having a bight portion 38 parallel with the panel and downwardly inclined end portions 4G terminating in inturned ends 42 underlying the panel 30. Each `downwardly inclined end portion is provided with Ian inwardly struck tongue 44 for engagement with opposed surfaces of the tubular lamps 26 for positioning the panel 30 in relation to the tubular lamps. The tongues 44 normally do not frictionally engage the lamps since the free 'ends of the downwardly inclined members 40 normally -frictionally engage the panel 30 for holding the panel in position and preventing shifting thereof.

The glare eliminator previously described is intended to eliminate substantially lall glare from any type of lighting fixture which uses tubing or tubular lamps. Glare is,

v of course, a very 4old problem in tubular lighting systems and many attempts have been made to eliminate glare. This device is intended for use with a single fixture or tube or with a series of iixtures or tubes adjacent to each other to form a continuous row of lighting. The particular construction of the shielding panel or screen and the particular manner of suspending this from the tubular lamps provides a highly effective glare eliminator and :glare structure.

'Ihe attaching Iband `36 is preferably made of a lightweight spring metal such as No. 414 stainless steel or 5% Phosphor bronze. The screen panel or glare eliminating panel has been successfully employed with the device being 10 inches wide and 46 inches long. The screen or panel may be made of vellum paper, tracing cloth or Iany other suitable material. A very good materialwould be a sheet of rigid polyvinyl chloride which may be transparent `or may be any desired degree of translucence. The sheet of plastic may be conveniently 1454 inch thick and be tire resistant and self extinguishing with the material having a specilic -gravity Vof 1.35 and will not .deform at temperatures below F. The tongues may be struck out of the attaching bands and the inturned ends of the bands forming supporting ledges for the screen or panel and also form clamp means for the clamp because of the spring tension of the band which urges the ends thereof inwardly. It is pointed out that the tongues are not intended to clamp the tubular lamps since they only gently contact the tubular member. The function of the tongues is to act as stabilizers from forces such `as Wind and the like and generally initially orientate the glare eliminator in relation to the reflector provided on the light xture. 'Ille entire unit can be installed in place on the iixture after the tubular lamps are in place. Simply take the bands and turn them ilatwise and slide in above the lamps. The free ends of the bands would then be turned down as shown in lthe drawing and the tongues would clear the lamp sides when the two feet or inturned ends of the band are sprung apart. With 4the bands in proper gripping relation to the panel, the 4feet or inturned ends of the supporting bands serve to clampingly engage the edges of the panel. In a number of machine shops and similar industrial installations, a fog of oil Vapor is usually present in the air and it is quite necessary to periodically remove the lamps in order to clean o the vapor deposit. With the present invention, the, screen or panel only would be removed and cleaned while leaving the lighting system intact since most of the vapor iilm would be deposited on the .bottom side of the present screen instead of on the tubular lamps.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications andV changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents my :be resorted to, falling Within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

In combination with a light iixture having a :generally inverted U-shaped reiiector panel including -a dat horizontal bi-ght portion and downwardly diverging side portions, a pair of tubular lamps disposed parallel to the bight portion land adjacent thereto, a rectangular ilat panel of glare eliminating material disposed Ibelow the tubular lamps in spaced parallel relation thereto and disposed above the lbottorn edges of .the side portions of fthe reflector, a plurality of hanger straps for said panel, each hanger strap being of substantially U-shaped configuration and including a bi-ght portion in parallel spaced relation to the bight portion of the reflector and down- Wardly -diverging side portions generally parallel to the side portions of the reflector, the side portions of the straps being spaced from the side portions of the reector, each strap having in-turned ends extending under the edge of the panel, each strap being constructed of resilient material whereby the inturned ends thereof will releasably support .the edges of the panel, each strap having downwardly and inwardly curved tangs struck therefrom at the upper end of the side portions in engagement with the opposed outer surfaces of the tubular lamps thereby detachably mounting the straps on the lamps with the tangs preventing transverse sliding movemen-t of the straps over the lampsrl References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,960,049 Coleman May 22, 1934 2,335,737 Campen Nov. 30, 1943 2,485,133 Behnke Oct. 18, 1949 2,546,190 Koppang etal Mar. 27, 1951 2,583,939 French Jan, 29, 1952 2,741,694 Thomstad Apr. 10, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,091,494 France Oct. 27, 1954 

